전자상거래의 다변화에 따른 소비자법의 쟁점

Abstract

(1) The digital content transaction When the consumers purchase any digital content which is used through online download or streaming service from providers, it would establish a digital content transaction as a part of e-commerce. Providers will correspond to the communication distributor of e-commerce consumer protection law by selling digital content to users in the market opened by operators of online store or mobile open-market. However, if the mobile open-market operators play roles simply as trading brokers who help the digital content transaction to be made between providers and users, they are placed in the position of mail order broker. In spite of the application of e-commerce law and contents industry promotion act, there is the lack of protection for consumers who purchase contents through e-commerce. Because e-commerce law is that the contract is concluded online but the implementation is formed by things in different time, it is not suitable for digital content transaction which consists of online from contract to implementation. Therefore, the legislation should reflect the peculiarity of digital content to the e-commerce consumer protection law for consumer protection. (2) Online electronic payments As the information and communication technology is developed and the scale of e-commerce is expanded, the electronic payment means has been expanded in a variety of ways such as credit cards, debit cards, prepaid rechargeable kidd, and electronic funds transfer, etc. The electronic payment of e-commerce goes processing on payment between a number of parties through transaction including sending and receiving information for the approval, payment, billing and settlement. These services from payment process enlarges the role of subsidiary electronic financial business operator as well as electronic financiers. In order to make consumers’ payment convenient and guarantee its safety, the breakthrough improvement of payment system is needed. By revising the installation procedures of future security program, allowing the storage of internet such as credit cards or internet banking numbers, simplifying the certification process, it would be much easier to complete the payment than now. And complementing cyber money could create an environment that ensures consumer’s safe usage of cyber money. It is desirable to allow for operators to issue cyber money under the stringent requirements and to ensure consumers the potential possibility of cash exchange on cyber money. (3) Internet foreign direct purchase contracts When the consumers receive products through international transport or delivery service by purchasing goods from foreign providers operating an internet shopping mall it is called Internet Foreign Direct Purchase Contracts. Foreign direct purchase contracts can be divided into two cases and those cases show significant difference on the legal relationship. One is that consumer has a contract with the mall operator directly and the other is the existence of marketing agency contract that the consumer has signed a contract with agency and receives items from the shopping mall operators after the agency order the goods instead of consumers. And if the shipping agency services is only provided from domestic provider to consumers, consumers do not play a role in a relationship with shipping agent but just receive shipping services according to the carriage contracts signed between internet shopping mall providers and shipping agency. (4) Online dispute resolution relating to e-commerce As the international consumer transaction increases corresponding to the recent global free trade trend, the need for dispute settlement procedures for international consumer disputes increased accordingly. Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) is an easy and quick online system to resolve disputes between consumers and providers instead of lawsuit(litigation). Online Dispute Resolution is usually composed of three stages of negotiation for reconciliation, adjustment or mediation, and arbitration.